Copyright Battle Over Obama 'Hope' Image

The Associated Press has hit back in a copyright suit brought by the artist behind the iconic Obama “Hope” image, saying the artist was “fully aware” the inspirational AP photo was copyrighted and that he is “profiting handsomely.” AP filed its answer and counterclaims to artist Shepard Fairey on Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York where Fairey is seeking a declaratory judgment. Story here. Read AP's answer and counterclaims here.

Read more...

Copyright Claim Nixed In Oracle Suit Against SAP

A judge has dismissed a copyright infringement claim in a suit filed by Oracle Corp. alleging that German software firm SAP AG illegally accessed and stole programming related to Oracle’s PeopleSoft and J.D. Edwards lines, but has left standing several state claims.

Read more...

December 2008 PCT Newsletter

Read it here...

Read more...

Unemployed Lawyers

Apparently the auto and bank industries are not the only ones to be hit by the financial meltdown and the jobless tsunami that followed. Law firms have been struggling for some time and now as the economy worsens, the number of unemployed lawyers nationwide has substantially increased.

Rumor has it that Ropes & Gray LLP is not going to give salary increases this December, however, bonuses are still forthcoming. Thacher Proffitt & Wood LLP has reportedly reached out to King & Spalding LLP about the possibility of taking over the struggling firm in order to avoid dissolution. Legal Times has reported that King & Spalding may take over approximately 100 of Thacher's 195 lawyers, but that it's not yet clear which practices and offices the 100 lawyers would come from. A New York legal consultant has said that "There's a tremendous amount of uncertainty about who's going to be invited to the party."

Howrey LLP has let go of approximately 10 associates. The firm said in a statement on Thursday that these were not layoffs but “outplacements.”

Read more...

A bit about this blog!

Originally I wanted to combine writing about photography and intellectual property law on my photography blog. However, after starting my photography blog I quickly realized that each topic deserved it's own space. So, this is how I got here. Welcome to my Intellectual Property Blog! Here you will find IP information, recent industry developments, IP law, useful links and information as well as links to job postings that I find interesting.

I also would like to take the opportunity to tell you more about me and my IP experiences since the 'About Me' page contains little information. I have been working in the IP industry since 1998. I am not an attorney but have extensive IP knowledge. For the past ten years my focus has been patent prosecution and my positions varied between paralegal and manager levels. It is worth noting that in the past two years I have focused on Trademark and Copyright prosecution as well as IP enforcement rights. Luckily, I have had the opportunity to work for several IP boutiques in NY as well as some of the largest world wide known law firms within their IP departments. Currently, I work in the legal department for one of the largest news organizations.

Please note the disclosure on the bottom of the page. It is imperative for the readers of this site to know that the information found on this web page should not be taken as legal advice and that the opinions displayed here or comments left on other pages do not reflect those of my current or past employers.

If you would like to contribute to this blog, please drop me a line to irene.keselman at gmail dot com.

Read more...